


I Am Good Enough

by mmouse15



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 21:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13326627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmouse15/pseuds/mmouse15
Summary: Luna and Hermione had a conversation.





	I Am Good Enough

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fleurting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurting/gifts).



Luna walked down the hallway serenely, the smile on her face never slipping. Hermione looked over and remarked, "Doesn't it bother you?"

"What?" Luna asked.

"The comments. You're so clever, and they make fun of you," Hermione said.

"So did you," Luna replied, "and now you don't. I can't stop people from saying things. I know who I am. Their opinions don't matter."

Hermione absorbed this for a time, then hesitantly asked, "How...how do you not care?"

Luna's smile grew a bit wider. "My mother taught me. People laughed at her, too, and it upset me when I was a child. I asked her the same question, and she told me that it didn't matter. Of course, as a child, it does matter, and her answer upset me so much I ran to my father and asked him."

"I'm sure he had an interesting reply," Hermione said.

"He did. He asked me what I would change, given that I couldn't change the people outside our family. Did I want my mother and father to change, to be more like other people? Did I want them to give up their hobbies and ideas, conform, make themselves fit into society? Did I want my father to stop telling me about the fantastic creatures he knew about, and for my mother to stop her work with spells? Of course I replied yes, and my parents changed. After two weeks, I was sobbing when I asked them to stop. My parents were no longer fun, and I hated it."

"That must have been such a drastic change," Hermione remarked.

"Oh, yes, it was horrible. Suddenly I had a schedule to follow. I had to eat when it was mealtimes, and make my bed, and my lessons took place inside our home, rather than anywhere. My parents were suddenly talking about boring things such as visiting family and how to do that, and politics, but without the commentary I'd become used to. I realized that fitting in meant that nothing would change, and that my parents were rebelling against the strictures of a society they didn't agree with, but they were doing it in a peaceful, respectful way, by forging their own path."

Hermione absorbed this, then asked, "How old were you?"

Luna smiled again, with a tinge of sadness to it. "I was nine, and two months later my mother was killed by one of her spells right in front of me. It rather cemented the lesson for me, don't you know?

Hermione looked to be on the verge of tears. "Oh, Luna, I'm sorry!"

"Don't be, Hermione. My mother died doing what she loved, which is the most important thing I learned. Life is meant to be lived according to your lights, and other people's opinions don't matter. Now, Hagrid sent me a note telling me he'd found a nest of bowtruckles, would you like to come?"

"Of course!"

~fin


End file.
